Filip Tomic
Show Bio
Only Western Conference opponents have claimed victories at TD Garden this season. Can Dallas join the list? The Mavericks and Celtics close out their regular season series tonight on ESPN at 7:30 pm ET. I’ve crafted a Mavs vs Celtics Same Game Parlay to make things a bit more interesting. You can also find out our NBA picks for the rest of tonight’s 9-game NBA slate, including Part 2 of the ESPN doubleheader with the Milwaukee Bucks vs Chicago Bulls.
Mavericks +9.5 (-110)
Kristaps Porzingis over 1.5 threes made (-184)
Jaylen Brown over 22.5 points (-106)
Same Game Parlay odds: +488
Dallas Mavericks +9.5 over Boston Celtics (-110)
Dallas ends a 4-game road trip in Boston tonight against the best team in the league, and I think they are capable of keeping this game close. I know the numbers are pointing heavily towards a Celtics win here, but I have faith in Luka Doncic. On Wednesday, he celebrated his 25th birthday with another masterful performance of 30 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists in an 11-point win at Toronto. Prior to that game, the Mavs suffered a tough loss at Cleveland on a buzzer-beating three from half-court, and at some point luck has to turn their way.
The Celtics picked up where they left off before the all-star break, winning all 3 of their games since the break by double-digits. They also won the first meeting of the season by 9 points on the road, but they couldn’t do much about Doncic as he filled the stat sheet with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. Kyrie Irving always gets up to play against his former teams, and I expect nothing less tonight when he hears the boos from the TD Garden faithful. Dallas is 8-2 SU/ATS in their last 10 overall and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 visits to Boston. I have them covering as 9.5-point underdogs.
Read our full Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics predictions
Kristaps Porzingis over 1.5 threes made (-184)
Backing Porzingis to drain a pair of threes in a game is one of my favorite bets this season. The Latvian had an almost perfect month of February where he cashed on 2 threes in all but 2 of his games. He capped off the month by shooting 41.9% from downtown, which is quite impressive for a player of his size. Playing a former team is always a motivating factor for KP, as he’s averaging 23.6 points per game in his last 5 against the Mavs, while draining at least 2 threes in all but one of those games. It’s also worth pointing out that Dallas is at a league-worst 42.3% allowed threes over their last 3 games. With that type of defense, Porzingis should have very little problems making a couple of shots from downtown.
Jaylen Brown over 22.5 points (-106)
He might not have a productive left hand, but even without it Brown has caused serious issues for the Dallas defense in recent meetings, scoring over 30 points twice in the last 3 games against them. He’s at almost 24 points per game in the last 10 meetings, which is primarily due to the Mavs’ weaknesses on the defensive end at Brown’s position. Neither Luka Doncic nor Kyrie Irving will wow you away with their performance on that end — they’re more focused on scoring the ball and keeping the Mavs in the game. I’m expecting Brown to take advantage of that, as he’s cleared this line 6 times in the last 8 games against Dallas. Jayson Tatum is the real leader of this team, but Brown is a close second-fiddle, averaging 22.4 points per game at TD Garden this season. In his last 2 games against the Knicks and 76ers, he’s scored 30+ points. After seeing him score 34 earlier in the season against Dallas, I expect his production to stay consistent here.
Start the weekend with a bang with our NBA mega parlay for tonight at +1467 odds
